Narrative (sub)Versions: How Queer Palestinian Womyn ‘Queer’ Palestinian Identity Ghaida Moussa Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters degree in Globalization and International Development with a concentration in Women Studies Department of International Development and Global Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Ghaida Moussa, Ottawa, Canada, 2011 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................... 6 A. Narrative 1: The National Narrative .................................................................................. 6 ‘Xenophobic Queerphobia’: The Unified ‘Nation’ and the ‘Other’, Queered ................... 6 Queer(s) (in the) Trenches: The Israeli-Palestinian Context .............................................. 9 Trouble in the National Narrative: Proof of Queerness Within Arabic Literature .........11 The Hierarchy of Struggles ...............................................................................................12 B. Narrative 2: The Israeli Colonial Ideological War ............................................................13 Rebranding Israel: The Emergence of an ‘Ideological War’ ............................................13 'Pinkwashing' Violence .....................................................................................................14 Impossible Queer Subjects and Obscured Jewish Homophobia ......................................18 What rights and for whom?: Progressive (?) Sexual Politics/ Regressive Racial Politics ...........................................................................................................................................19 C. Narrative 3: ‘Neocolonial Solidarity’ ...............................................................................20 'White Queers Saving 'Brown' Queers from 'Brown' Heterosexuals' .............................20 The 'Narrative of Progress' and the 'Savior Narrative': The Construction of the 'Other' and the 'Self' to Justify Intervention ................................................................................23 Constructing the 'Other' .............................................................................................23 Building an Integrally homophobic Arab/Muslim World ...............................23 Constructing the 'Self'.................................................................................................25 Savior Narrative ..........................................................................................................27 Crossing the Checkpoint .............................................................................................29 D. Lacks in the Present Literature ........................................................................................34 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORKS.................................................37 A. Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks ........................................................................37 Sex, Gender, 'Womyn' and Post-feminism ......................................................................38 ii Theorizing Transnational Alliances and Solidarity ..........................................................39 Orientalism .......................................................................................................................42 Theorizing Resistance: How Queer Palestinian Womyn 'Queer' Palestinian Identity ...43 Queering the Nation ...................................................................................................45 B. Epistemological Framework .............................................................................................46 Foucault: Discourse as Productive of Knowledge ............................................................48 Standpoint Epistemology: Seeing from Below/ Privilege Obscures Privilege ................49 Fragmented Standpoints: 'Concrete Universalism' and Situated Partial Knowledge(s) 50 Material(izing) Sub(versive)-Discourse ............................................................................52 C. Methodological Framework .............................................................................................53 Two-Tone Feminist Project: Deconstruction/Reconstruction .........................................53 Defying Homogeneity, Reductionism, Essentialism and Universalism ...........................54 Power Relations ................................................................................................................57 Reflexivity as Objectivity ..................................................................................................59 Data Production................................................................................................................62 Methods of Data Production: Qualitative Triangulation ............................................62 Content Analysis ............................................................................................63 Semi-directed Field Interviews .......................................................................63 Interview Sample ...........................................................................................66 Participative Observation ..............................................................................69 Ethical Framework ............................................................................................................70 CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS ..........................................................................................................................73 A. What is resistance?...........................................................................................................73 B. Narrative 1: The National Narrative ................................................................................74 How Does the Apartheid/Occupation Context Affect Palestinian Queers? ...................74 Clear and Visible Political Agenda ...................................................................................75 Changing Society and Taking Ownership of Discourse ...................................................77 iii On Writing as Resistance, and Reclaiming Language .....................................................80 Connecting with People's Humanity ................................................................................83 Challenging the 'Hierarchy of Struggles' Narrative: Talking Intersections ....................84 Working from Within .......................................................................................................85 Queering the National Struggle .......................................................................................86 C. Narrative 2: The Colonial Narrative .................................................................................89 For the West .....................................................................................................................89 The Problem with Comparisons .......................................................................................90 The Misrepresentation of Israel .......................................................................................92 The Misrepresentation of the 'Arab World' and the Suppression of Palestinian Queer Existence ...........................................................................................................................97 Not In Our Name: Subverting the Israeli PR Campaign ..................................................99 D. Narrative 3: The Neocolonial Narrative ........................................................................101 Separation from Jewish Gay Life / Creating Arab-Exclusive Spaces .............................102 Queering 'Queer Struggles' ............................................................................................105 Reframing Solidarity/Recognizing Neocolonialism .......................................................106 (Mis)Representation .......................................................................................................108 Rethinking Solidarity in Terms of 'Duty' ........................................................................111 On Self-Determination and Humility .............................................................................113 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................115 A. Conclusions: Narrative (sub)Versions ............................................................................115 B. Prospects of Future Research ........................................................................................117 ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................123 FIGURE 1: ‘La Teez Teezi’